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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29427222">When the West call (Micah Bell x OC)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/mjarashi/pseuds/mjarashi'>mjarashi</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Red Dead Redemption (Video Games), Red Dead Redemption 2, rdr2 - Fandom</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Outlaw, RDR2, Romance, Western</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 13:22:30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,505</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29427222</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/mjarashi/pseuds/mjarashi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After robbing a bank, the Van der Linde gang has to move south, to escape the lay and continue its activity. But they are not the only gang in New Austin. The Reyes Brothers are making the lay in this area and are not ready to share. Micah becomes aware of it after the visit of the mysterious Anya, a young woman under the orders of the cruel brothers.</p><p>Red Dead Redemption II Micah Bell x OC</p><p>NB: The story takes place before the event of RDR2 (before the Blackwater massacre). I took some liberty from the original plot.</p><p>Everything belongs to Rockstars, except some original characters and slight changes in the background story.</p><p>Hope you'll enjoy it! </p><p>Bisous!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Micah Bell/Original Female Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>At the beginning of the year 1899, the infamous Van der Linde gang has moved South, in New Austin, after robbing a bank in the north part of the country. They installed their camp in Rio Bravo, between the San Luis River and Benedict Point, in a quiet area.<br/>
Just before the robbery, the gang had recently grown bigger from new members. One of them was a young man named Charles Smith, a lone wolf who accepted to join the gang and benefit from the security of being in a group. In everyone's opinion, he was a great addition to the gang, capable, and always willing to help. The same could not be said for the second new member, Micah Bell. He was a ruthless outlaw, introduced to a life a crime by his father, with who he committed a double homicide by the age of 17. Micah was not a nice man. He only believed in being the strongest to survive this tough world. And lucky for him, he was skilled and experimented, which was exactly why Dutch offered him a place in the gang. That and the fact that Micah saved the charismatic leader's life.</p><p>"It sure is hotter than where we were before" a young woman with blue eyes and brown curly hair said, wiping the sweat from her forehead.</p><p>"That's for sure" another woman said with a chuckle as she rolled her sleeves up her arms.</p><p>But their little chat soon was cut short by some barking.</p><p>"Go back to work, ladies! The tents won't build themselves!" Micah shouted as he grabbed a bottle of beer and went to sit in front of the fire in the middle of the camp.</p><p>"Micah! Micah!" Dutch tried to call out despite the busy and noisy camp.</p><p>"Boss?" the blonde man said as he stood up to face the Van der Linde leader.</p><p>"I'm sending some men to look around the area, see if they can find some useful information. I'd like you to go see if you can find anything in Tumbleweed, just north of here" Dutch said as he took Micah by the shoulder and started to walk towards the hitching post. </p><p>"Sure boss" Micah answered, a bit annoyed that his break has been interrupted. Dutch left and Micah mounted his horse, suddenly motivated by the thought of a possible saloon in the town he had to visit. </p><p>***</p><p>It was the fourth time Micah rode in direction of the small town of Tumbleweed. During his last visit, he had not learned a lot, the city being in decline and most of the people having already left. But Dutch had been pressing him about valuable information, so Micah came back again, mostly just to avoid Dutch, and drink in peace.</p><p>As soon as he stepped into the saloon, the bartender recognized him and opened a beer before putting it on the counter. Micah took it after giving the man the money. He took a sip of the fresh beverage as he leaned against the wooden bar and started to look around. Today was more crowded than usual, a few tables being occupied, as well as some stools next to him.</p><p>After some time, Micah tried to concentrate on discussions that were being held in the saloon, hoping to finally find something to bring back to Dutch. But the man next to him took most of his attention, his fingers tapping on the bar and his leg shaking on his stool. Micah was about to pass his nerves on him, but the man suddenly straightened up while looking at the entrance. Micah could hear him sigh in relief as he looked towards the door and saw a man scanning the room before running towards Micah's stool neighbor. </p><p>"Finally! What took you so long!? I was worried sick!" the man said to the newcomer, some agitation still in his voice.</p><p>"I'm sorry Pat... But I had some trouble on the way. Those damn bandits robbed me again" the man whispered the last part, still trying to catch his breath. </p><p>"Them again?! But I thought the sheriff was handling the situation" the other whined, rubbing his face with his dirty hand.</p><p>After a while, Pat talked again.</p><p>"Well, I'll try to explain the situation to Mister Robert..." he said pitifully, finishing his drink and standing up.</p><p>"Good luck" the other said, holding his head in his hands.</p><p>"You have some gang problem around here?" Micah asked once the other was out of the saloon.</p><p>"Umh? Oh, yes, Mister. And the worst gang possible that is" he said, waving at the bartender for a drink.</p><p>"Mmh, yeah, I heard about the Del Lobo. Though guys" Micah said, sipping from his drink while the other received his.</p><p>"Not the Del Lobo, Mister. Oh no, those are the least of our problems right now. I'm talking about the Reyes Brothers. Way worse than the Lobos, Mister. Even the sheriff Freeman can't do anything against them" the man explained before swallowing his whole beer in one go.</p><p>"Reyes Brothers? I've never heard of them" Micah said, his brows furrowing as he thought about the name.</p><p>"Well, good for you I guess, Mister. And I wish you to never meet them. It never ends well, that I can tell you" the man said.</p><p>Micah looked at the small man before waving at the bartender to bring them two more beers.</p><p>"What else do you know about them?" Micah asked, putting the freshly opened beer in front of the man. </p><p>The man hesitated. He looked at the beer, and then around the room, before taking the bottle and swallowing half of its content. He then leaned closer.<br/>
"First, you have to be careful. They are everywhere" the man whispered, slowly nodding his head.</p><p>"Alright. Then? Who are they?" Micah asked, starting to lose his patience.  </p><p>"Alejandro and Luis Reyes, came from Mexico a few years ago. They hire men, mostly mercenaries to do their dirty jobs" the man whispered, his eyes still scanning the room worriedly.</p><p>"What kind of jobs?" Micah asked, his interest growing. </p><p>"Mostly loan sharks and bounty hunting. And they also rob supply wagon when they feel like it" he said the last sentence with a weird chuckle "Well, if you excuse me, Mister, I have some stolen things to pay back. Thanks for the drink" he added as he stood up slowly and walked towards the door with an arched back.</p><p>Micah leaned again against the wooden bar and finished his drink, happy to finally have something to bring back to Dutch. He was getting ready to leave when he felt a shiver down his spine, knowing straight away that someone was watching him. He put his white hat low on his head and looked carefully over his shoulder. He did a first quick round, without noticing anything. But then he saw it. A shadow, sat at a table at one of the corners of the saloon. He could tell it was a woman, with her long legs covered with heeled boots and tight pants. A smirk appeared on Micah's face as his eyes trailed back up until they reached her face. But he could not see it, as it was hidden by the brim of a large dark hat.</p><p>Micah was thinking of confronting this mysterious shadow. He was a Bell, after all, always rushing headlong. But his attention was stolen by some commotion outside. As he looked out the window, he quickly recognized Bill, a member of the Van der Linde gang, shouting and more than probably insulting someone.</p><p>"Fucking Williamson" Micah sighed as he rolled his eyes and headed towards the door. He gave a last glance at the table where he saw the woman, but she had disappeared. He shrugged it and hurried outside to prevent Bill to do something stupid, as his usual. </p><p>"Can't you be more fucking careful you moron! You almost walked over me with your dumb horse!" a man shouted, agitating his arms in the air.</p><p>"Don't call me a moron! You almost throw yourself under its hooves! And show some respect to Brown Jack! He's smarter than you are!" Bill shouted back, his face already red with anger.</p><p>"What did you just say?!" the man exploded, rushing towards Bill, who already had his fists raised.</p><p>"Enough here!" Micah intervened, putting himself in between the two men "I'll take care of him from now on" he added to the man, who still looked angry, but kind of relieved not to have to fight a man twice his size.</p><p>Bill was about to say something, but Micah pulled him in a less busy place, making Bill grunt slightly.</p><p>"What is fucking wrong with your empty head, Williamson?" Micha hissed, his finger raised towards Bill's face "Dutch want us to gather information, not the attention of the whole town!"</p><p>"Oh shut it, Bell!" the tall man said, earning himself a death glare from the blonde man in front of him "I came here because I heard about a house here, supposedly full of gold, and soon empty" he added, a proud expression on his face.</p><p>"Empty? What do you mean by that?" Micah asked, his curiosity suddenly piqued.</p><p>"They said the ones living there were leaving the town for a few days" Bill explained, a smirk on his face.</p><p>"Who 'they'?" Micah asked again, not entirely trusting Bill's information.</p><p>"Don't know" the tall man shrugged "Some fellows down in Benedict Point. But it doesn't matter, they were saying that the people living in were leaving in the morning in two days and that they planned to rob the house during the night. We only need to do it before them" </p><p>"Mmh could work I guess" Micah said, his brows furrowed as he thought about it "Better get back to camp for today and tell Dutch about it" he finally concluded before heading towards his horse.</p><p>After reaching the camp, the two men went to explain everything to Dutch, who seemed more enthusiastic than Micah about the plan.</p><p>"Well done! That's exactly what I was expecting from you, gentlemen! Now, I want you, Micah, to go and see if you can confirm what Bill heard about the house, and also examine the property and its surrounding. Bill, I think it would be safer for you to stay out of the town for now" Dutch told the two before dismissing them.</p><p>As he walked toward the main campfire, Micah could hear Bill mumbled in his beard, angry to have been put aside when it was him who heard about the house. </p><p>"Maybe next time,  Williamson!" Micah said with a teasing smirk as he looked at Bill.</p><p>"Funny, Bell" Bill spat before heading towards his bedroll, not without grabbing a bottle of cheap whisky on his way.</p><p>Micah laughed darkly before sitting on a log in front of the fire. He thought again about the shadow he saw in the bar earlier but shrugged it off quickly, his mind now focused on his task for the next day.</p><p>***</p><p>In the morning, Micah rode back to Tumbleweed, hoping to find new information about the house and its inhabitants, or at least to confirm what Bill told him. For a while, he only wandered around the house, counting how many people lived and worked there. It was just an old couple with a few workers. After investigating some more, Micah indeed learned that the people living there were leaving tomorrow in the morning and would not be back before the next evening at least. </p><p>He then decided to reward himself for his good work with a fresh drink, so he naturally headed towards the saloon. As usual, it was pretty empty. Micah ordered his drink and thought again about all he learned today. It indeed looked like a good plan. The couple looked pretty fortunate and as they will be gone, the gang will have pretty much all afternoon to rob the place, as the workers only come in the morning. Just two or three men should be enough to do the job quickly without raising too much suspicion. </p><p>When his drink was finished, he headed outside in direction of the hitching post. As he climbed on Baylock, he saw a dark horse rushing out of the town, mounted by a thin, familiar-looking silhouette with a heavy hat on its head. Micah kept his cold eyes on it until it disappeared from his sight. He thought it was strange, but decided to put the thought in a corner of his head, having more important things to focus on at the moment. </p><p>***</p><p>The next day, Micah, Arthur and Javier headed towards Tumbleweed in the afternoon. They succeeded in discreetly robbing the house and went back to camp to give their share to the camp. The night was spent drinking, dancing and celebrating their first smooth job in the area.</p><p>When Micah woke up, the sun was already high in the sky. And his head was pounding. A lot. As he started to stand up, he heard shouting outside, coming from Miss Grimshaw, ordering around the girls to do some work. He came out of his tent to grab some coffee, but the noise was just too much. He quickly finished his cup before mounting Baylock and riding away.</p><p>After having sold the jewelry from yesterday to a shady man in Benedict Point, Micah decided to avoid the camp some more and rode to Tumbleweed to play some poker. After a few games and a few drinks to fight the hungover, Micah felt an urgent need and headed outside, at the back of the building. But he did not have the time to undo his belt that his head jerked up as he heard the hammer of a gun being pulled down behind his head.</p><p>"Don't try anything stupid" a raspy but still warm voice said from behind him. Micah tilted his head slightly and raised his hands slowly. A woman? "You and your little friends stole from us" the voice said, getting more menacing. </p><p>Oh. So it was not just two random boys talking about it. They were part of some kind of a gang too. Micah was putting two and two together.</p><p>"Listen, this was just an unfortunate misunderstanding" Micah explained while slowly turning his head around, which attracted his opponent's attention. This allowed him to quickly draw out his gun with his other hand. There were now facing, the two of them pointing their gun at the other. </p><p>Micah was not surprised when he recognized the big dark hat he saw in the bar a few days ago, but he was struck by what was under. She was not tall, and not entirely American. She had slightly tan, golden skin, with dark, wild eyes. She had long, brown hair falling on her shoulders a bit messily. Despite the situation, Micah could not hold back from looking more, his eyes trailing down her small but strong body until he reached her legs, covered with a dusty white shirt, split on one side, revealing her right knee. But his attention went back to her face when she talked again.</p><p>"Unfortunate misunderstanding my ass! You don't mess with the Reyes Brothers, you better remember that!" she said threateningly, her head held high.</p><p>"And what if I forget?" Micah asked, a smirk on his face, his gun still pointed at her.</p><p>She took a few steps towards him, the tip of her shotgun pressed against his chest while Micah had moved his gun to the side. </p><p>"Then I'll come and remind it to you" she said lowly, her face only inches from his, pressing her gun harder against him.</p><p>"Then I might just try my luck" Micah said, his head tilting to have a better look at her face, a hungry smirk on his face.</p><p>She only glared at him before shoving him with her gun and walking away. Micah chuckled as he looked at her, her white skirt dancing around her legs as she headed towards a tall brown horse. She graciously mounted it, giving one last glance in the direction of Micah, before rushing out of town.</p><p>What an interesting encounter. After that, Micah was very willing to tease a bit those Reyes Brothers, if this meant he could see her again.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A few days had passed since the Van der Linde robed the house. The gang has been laying low since then around Tumbleweed, as the sheriff was actively investigating the robbery. They have sold some of the objects they found in the house and used some of the money to upgrade the camp, buy new tents, food and medicine.</p><p>Everyone was relaxing, going out of camp only to fish or hunt, and to take a stroll. They had all they could need for some time. But Micah was bored. He was a man of action and would have been happy to occupy his mind to think of something else than the dark eyes of the mysterious woman he met after the robbery.</p><p>He wanted to see her again. And in theory, he knew how. He only had to tease those Reyes Brothers a bit. But he did not know how to find them. He only heard about them in Tumbleweed, but even he knew it was not wise to go back there at the moment. So instead, he simply wandered in the area.</p><p>One day, while he was in Benedict Point selling some items he has “found” during his many rides, he heard two men talking, his attention being caught when he heard a certain name.</p><p>“Those Reyes guys... they’re a real pest!” a man said loudly but was quickly cut by another one.</p><p>“Sshh! Don’t speak about them like this! What if they hear you?!” the other whispered, a horrified expression on his face.</p><p>“Yeah! What about it? They’re gonna rob us? Burn the farm?! Oh, but wait! They already did! And all my dad’s gold? Gone with them!” the first man exploded before standing up and mounting his horse.</p><p>His friend looked in his direction in shock before hurrying after him.</p><p>A wild smirk appeared on Micah’s face after this confrontation. He really liked what he just heard. After collecting his money, he mounted his horse and rode to some high and took out his binocular.</p><p>“Gotcha!” Micah said as he put down his binocular and headed West, in the direction of the smoke column he just saw.</p><p>When Micah arrived, it was a sad view. The farm, or what was left, had all burnt, as well as the little barn next to it. It was a mess, but Micah was able to found tracks. Three horses, heading south. Micah followed the tracks until he saw some smoke from a campfire. He got closer and indeed saw a little camp with three men. He dismounted his horse and discreetly got closer.</p><p>“That was a good one for sure! Who would have thought this shabby farm contained that much gold!” one of them was talking while agitating a bottle of beer in the air.</p><p>“You’re telling me! Easy money that we just made! Alejandro’s gonna be so pleased with us when will bring him the chest!” the second said, his eyes landing on a wooden chest near the horses.</p><p>“Wait, no! We can’t bring him the chest! Remember, he always says we can’t travel with valuable things!” the third and last of them added quickly, some panic in his eyes.</p><p>“He did say something like this... But what should we do?” the second man asked, clearly confused about the situation.</p><p>“I say we bury it and we do a map for Alejandro!” the first man exclaimed after a few minutes of silence.</p><p>“Yes! Let’s do that” the second said as they all stood up and hurried towards the river with the chest and a shovel.</p><p>Micah was amazed by the stupidity of the three men but was nonetheless glad as he just had a wonderful idea to annoy the Reyes Brothers and thus maybe see the mysterious woman again.</p><p>When he saw where the three men wanted to bury the chest, he positioned himself a bit further and simply waited for the men to leave. As he waited, he quickly pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and wrote on it.</p><p>“Wrong place</p><p>The gold is somewhere else now</p><p>Good luck to find it</p><p>M. Bell”</p><p>A little hour later, the chest was buried and the three men had left. Micah stood up and dug up the chest. He took what was inside and hid it in the satchel on his horse before putting his note inside the now empty chest and going back to the camp.</p><p>Now he only had to wait.</p><p>***</p><p>It has been a few days since Micah played his little trick to the Reyes Brothers. The camp was having one of those nights where everyone felt like drinking, singing and dancing. Micah, not too keen on those little parties, was on guard duty. He grabbed a bottle of whisky and was lazily taking small sips while walking around his zone and enjoying the calmness of the night.</p><p>But his little moment was soon interrupted when he heard movement behind him. Without moving his head, he quickly glanced down to make sure his guns were in his holster. He could hear the footsteps coming closer and soon enough, he felt the hard tip of a gun between his shoulder blades.</p><p>“You took your time” Micah smirked, still looking straight in front of him.</p><p>“I told you not to mess with the Reyes Brothers” the slightly raspy voice Micah longed to hear again said.</p><p>“What can I say, I wanted to see you again” Micah shrugged, slowly turning around. When he felt the pressure of the tip of the gun reduce against his back, he faced her completely.</p><p>She was even more beautiful than he remembered, with the fire illuminating her face in a dreamy way and her gun still aimed at him.</p><p>“They’re mad. Really mad. They wanna know where you hid their gold” she said, no emotion showing on her face.</p><p>“And what If I don’t wanna tell?” he asked, his lips forming a wide smirk and his eyes taking in all her beauty.</p><p>“They’ll find you and make you say it” she answered too calmly, though Micah could see something shine in her eyes.</p><p>“Mmh. But I think I’m still keeping the gold” he laughed before drinking from the whisky bottle, not taking his eyes from hers. But both their heads turned in the direction of branches cracking a bit further, indicating that someone was approaching.</p><p>“You’re a fool, Micah Bell” she said, slightly shaking her head, before turning around and disappearing in the night.</p><p>“Probably” Micah whispered to himself as Charles reached him and took the rifle to start his guard sift.</p><p>***</p><p>Two days after this eerie meeting, Micah was sent north to explore, and mostly to rob cabins in the area. This type of job lacked action for his taste, but he was still pretty pleased to be out of camp. But despite the calm of the deserted land, Micah felt like he was not alone. He tried to see if someone was following him but was unable to see anyone. At some point, he simply shrugged it and continued his little visits.</p><p>He was in a little abandoned cabin, roaming into the drawer of a night table when he suddenly heard the wooden floor crack behind him. But the poor man did not have the time to turn around that he felt a sharp pain on the side of his head, and everything went black.</p><p>He only remembered vaguely being carried in a wagon, and a faint voice murmuring something to his ear.</p><p>“I told you you were a fool”</p><p>And after that, blackness.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When he woke up, it was pitch black. Micah could not say what time of the day it was or for how long he has been out. He could only guess it has been a while, with how his whole body was aching and how thirsty he was. He was sat on a cold, hard floor, his shoulders were tied behind his back to a pole.</p><p>Now that he was more awake, he tried to assess the situation. Clearly, he had no idea where he was. But Micah did not have more time to think as he heard loud footsteps just above him. He straightened his position, trying to get ready for whatever was coming at him. The footsteps stopped not too far from him and he could finally see some light coming from under the closed door. He then heard the sound of a lock and the door opening.</p><p>“Oh! Look who’s finally awake” the man who entered the room almost sang, a dreadful smile forming on his scarred face “Now we can play” he added, coming closer to Micah.</p><p>“Slow down Luis, maybe our guest will agree to talk by himself” a second man entered the room. He was taller, with a calm expression on his face that matched the tone of his voice “Forgive my brother, he’s a bit... impatient”.</p><p>Micah looked at the man with a scoff, not adding a word.</p><p>“I reckon you’re Micah Bell, one of Dutch Van der Linde men” the tall man started, but this time, Micah decided to cut him.</p><p>“You’re well informed” he said, his usual smirk starting to appear again on his face, even if he was aware of not being in a comfortable position.</p><p>“I am. And I am Alejandro Reyes, the man you stole from. I want my gold back” the man named Alejandro spoke again, this time more harshly “So either you tell me nicely where you hide our gold, or I let my brother take the information out of you. You’ll probably understand why he’s called “Mad Dog”” he added while sitting on a stool in front of Micah.</p><p>“I ain’t telling you shit!” Micah spat, looking at Alejandro straight in the eyes.</p><p>“Well, what a shame” Alejandro sighed as he lazily stood up “Luis, he’s all yours” he last said before exiting the room, his brother letting out a weird noise as he got close to Micah.</p><p>“We’ll have fun, you’ll see” Luis said with a crooked smile before punching Micha in the face.</p><p>***</p><p>It was pitch black again. Micah was now laying on the floor and could feel the taste of blood in his mouth. He tried to move, but groan loudly as he did. The bastard really messed him up. He probably had a few bruised ribs, and he could feel dried blood sticking on his face.</p><p>What a mess.</p><p>Micah was about to fall asleep when he heard footsteps approaching. He sat straight, cursing as the pain shot through his ribcage. The door opened, making him glare at the person entering.</p><p>But he was surprised to see not Alejandro or his insane brother, but instead an angel. At least that what he thought for a split second, the thought almost making him laugh if the situation was not so bad.</p><p>She stopped a moment at the door, not expecting to see him awake already. She then closed the door and walked carefully towards Micah, her hands holding a heavy-looking basket and a lantern. Micah’s attention went to her skirt, white, slightly shorter on the front, letting him see her ankles as she walked. Finally, he saw her again.</p><p>“I brought you some food and water” she said as she kneeled in front of him and took out a jar of water and some cans of food.</p><p>Micah hurried to drink a large amount of water, his throat being dry since he first woke up here. After opening some canned salmon, he looked at the woman in front of him.</p><p>“Guarding must not be the strong point of those men if you managed to sneak in with all that” he smirked and then ate some salmon, grimacing when some oil went on his chin, where a large gash was still bleeding.</p><p>She scoffed slightly, shaking her head as she took out a few items from her basket.</p><p>“It’s actually Alejandro who’s sent me. I’m here to make sure you don’t die before he got the information he wants” she said as she poured some liquid on a rag.</p><p>“Mmh, that’s how it is. And here I thought you liked me” Micah said, faking a pouty face before laughing. But a wrong move made him remember about his wound, and he went silent again.</p><p>“Drink this, it’ll help with the bruises and the pain” she sighed as she put down the rag in her hand and gave him a small bottle.</p><p>“How do I know it’s not some poisoned shit?” he said, reluctantly taking the bottle.</p><p>“I told you, Alejandro wants you alive until you tell him where you hide the gold” she said flatly, pouring some more liquid on her now dry rag.</p><p>“Mmh, make sense” Micah said before drinking the content, not without a grimace caused by its bitter taste.</p><p>“I’ll clean your wound now” she said as she came closer to him.</p><p>He only looked at her face, barely lit by the lantern, as she raised her hand to his face. She was about to clean the gash on his chin when Micah suddenly grabbed her wrist, holding it gently.</p><p>“What’s your name anyway” he asked, still holding her wrist, feeling her tensing.</p><p>“Why would you know?” she asked defensively, her head still held high despite her clear discomfort.</p><p>“You know mine, right? It’s only fair I get to know yours too” Micah explained with a smirk.</p><p>She took a deep breath, slightly annoyed by his behavior “Anya. My name’s Anya” she said.</p><p>“Very pretty” Micah said, looking intensely at her, loving how the weak light of the lantern embraced her tan face. She was sure she felt his fingers move against her skin before he released her wrist.</p><p>She let out a breath she did not know she was holding, and when she felt the rag against her fingers, she came back to her sense, remembering where she was.</p><p>“Can I clean your wound now?” she regained her posture, trying to forget the faint sensation of heat on her cheeks. She put on back her blank expression and poured once again alcohol on her rag.</p><p>“I’m all yours, darling” Micah said with a way too happy smile while he sat down against the pole he was previously attached to.</p><p>***</p><p>The next day, Micah again had the visit of Luis, who also, left again without the information he wanted.</p><p>Micah was dozing off when loud noises woke him up completely. At first, it was only footsteps, but then a loud thud, as if something fell on the floor. He also heard some indistinct shouting from upstairs. Loud footsteps could be heard again, walking away. A few seconds of silence and then light stepping, but this time approaching.</p><p>The door opened slowly, letting Anya stepped in, her hair slightly messy, and her head lower than the day before.</p><p>She walked in silence near Micah and took out some food.</p><p>“You alright?” he asked, feeling that something was wrong.</p><p>“Sorry about the water, I spilled it” she said, barely above a whisper, not answering his question. Micah did not hear very well, but he thought he heard her voice tremble.</p><p>He looked at her, his brows furrowed while she took out a bottle of medicine for the pain and the bruise. As she went to give him the bottle, Micah took a hold of her wrist, making Anya hissed. She tried to take back her hand, but he held it strongly, tilting his head as he looked more closely at her skin.</p><p>“Aren’t you the one who should drink it” he said roughly, letting go after having seen the dark bruise on her arm.</p><p>“Nonsense... I’m used to it anyway” she answered, looking at Micah straight in the eyes as she put down the bottle of medicine in front of him. Micah noticed her change of attitude. She was strong and did not want to let others see her as weak. He shook his head and drank the content of the bottle.</p><p>“What brought you with that band of crazy bastards?” Micah then asked while Anya was preparing her things to treat Micah’s wounds. He was again all beaten up, full of bruises and small cuts.</p><p>But Anya only gave him a glare before starting to gently clean his face.</p><p>“Oh, come on! You’re stuck here with me for a while anyway! Might as well talk a bit. I’ve already told you quite a bit of my adventure” Micah rolled his eyes, annoyed by her lack of cooperation. She had been listening with some attention the day before when he told her about some of his previous exploits. He though she might be more friendly towards him now.</p><p>Anya sat back and let out a loud sigh, looking at him as if she tried to find proof that she might trust him. Micah raised his eyebrows, wondering how long she planned on scanning me like this.</p><p>“My father was a gambler. And a drunkard. He ended owning the Reyes brothers a lot of money but lost everything during a game, so he offered me in exchange for more time to gather the money. Needless to say, he quickly ran away god knows where while he had the chance. So they kept me to pay his debt” she explained quickly as she put herself back to work in cleaning the small gash he had on his face.</p><p>“Why didn’t you just leave?” Micah asked, looking at her concentrated face.</p><p>She laughed shortly, her hand lingering on Micah’s jaw.</p><p>“And where could I go? I have nothing, no one. They’ll find me in no time to bring me back” she said, a sad smile still on her face as her thumb gently traced the newly-formed scar on Micah’s chin “I didn’t do a great job, you have a scar now” she whispered as if she was thinking of something else.</p><p>“It’ll just add to my charm” Micah said with a flirtatious voice and his most handsome smirk.</p><p>She shook her head, her smile slightly bigger than before, but was a bit reluctant to remove her hand.</p><p>But the gunshot that suddenly could be heard outside made her stand up, both wondering what was going on. She carefully approached the door, Micah looking at her every move.</p><p>“Micah! Micah, where are you?” Anya could hear in the chaos of the shooting. She looked at the man in the room, thinking quickly. Micah looked at her, still wondering what was happening outside and his foot still shackled to the floor.</p><p>“What-“ Micah started but Anya suddenly turned around and ran outside the room, leaving Micah alone.</p><p>“The fuck?” he cursed, trying to pull on the chain. But nothing moved. He sat back and could hear a loud rumbling upstairs. He started to worry, being completely defenseless in this state.</p><p>He tried to look around him to see if he could find something useful but the only thing he could find was the empty jar of water next to him. He grabbed it when he heard footsteps coming closer. The door opened again to reveal Anya, her eyes wide opened when she saw Micah holding onto his empty jar.</p><p>She quickly shook her head and hurried towards him before kneeling in front of him. She then pulled out a key.</p><p>“What are you doing?” Micah asked, unsure of the situation.</p><p>“What does it look like? It’s your friends outside, they came looking for you” she explained, struggling a bit with the lock.</p><p>When it finally unlocked, Anya helped Micah on his feet, pulling him by the arm upstairs.</p><p>“Quick, we don’t have a lot of time” she pressed him.</p><p>Micah could only follow, not understanding why she was helping him.</p><p>“Won’t you have problems after that?” Micah asked her as she ran toward a desk and opened all the drawers.</p><p>“Well, maybe they’ll believe it was one of your friends who freed you” she said with an unsure smile “Ah!” she exclaimed when she finally put her hands on Micah stuffs “Here, I think there’s everything. Now try to get out of here” she pushed him towards the door that led outside.</p><p>“What about you? Come with me. You have your place in the Van der Linde gang” Micah said, a serious expression on his face as he grabbed her hand. Sure he was not too keen on adding another mouth to feed. But she helped him. A lot. And he knew the brothers will not go easy on her after that.</p><p>“I can’t. They’ll know for sure it was me. I can’t risk it” she said, slowly walking back into the room, their hands soon separated “Go” she pressed him.</p><p>Micah looked at her, trying to decide what was best. She was right, they will track her down if they know she betrayed them.</p><p>“Micah!” he could this time hear his boss, Dutch Van der Linde, call his name.</p><p>He looked one last time at Anya, who nodded at him.</p><p>“Go” she said weakly, her voice slightly trembling.</p><p>Micah cursed before violently opening the door and slamming it close. Anya looked at the now closed door, a single tear rolling down her cheek. Was it fear or sadness, she was not yet certain.</p><p>Micah let out his anger on every man he laid his eyes on. He could not save her, but he could at least weaken the Reyes gang by killing as many men as he could. It was Charles and Arthur who had to force him to go back with them, as they were not enough to fight all the men present here.</p><p>***</p><p>This night, Micah was sitting in front of the main campfire. The people around him were all joyful, chatting and singing. But Micah was lost in his thoughts, only focusing on the dancing flames. All he could see was the face of a certain woman he had to abandon.</p><p>This very same woman was now sat on a cold, hard floor in a dark room.</p><p>“Are you gonna explain what happened, or should I sent my brother back to make you more talkative?” Alejandro asked with his way too calm voice.</p><p>“I told you, I didn’t help him escape” Anya said her face low and her eyes stuck on her thighs.</p><p>Alejandro sighed loudly “This is useless. We’ll talk again tomorrow” he said before walking out of the room and locking the door, leaving Anya in the dark, the face of a blond outlaw appearing in her mind as her whole body ached, and no one was her to treat her wounds.</p>
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